Chapter 1

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Bam

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          It was over. Finally, it was over. Through the floating rubble and smokey haze, Bam could see Traumerei's Battleship melting into the horizon. The Nest, the once impenetrable Lo Po Bia stronghold, stood in ruin and up in flames. Allies gathered around Bam and joined him in staring off into the distance where Jahad's army was moments ago.

          They all stood in relative silence, staring off into the distance where Jahad's army had disappeared. Suddenly, Yama let out an earsplitting roar, quickly joined by the howls of his canine troops. Slowly, all of FUG's allies joined them in their celebration, as the weight of their collective victory settled in. But Bam didn't have the heart to cheer with them. He couldn't help but wonder, Did we really win?

          The fight at the Nest had been going well enough at first, but Traumerei's unexpected arrival marked the moment where it all went wrong. When he discovered that Bam had acquired Leviathan, he flew into a rage and unleashed his shinheuh, unleashing devastation upon rankers and regulars alike. Karaka, Dowon, Cha, Yama, and Yasratcha were closest to Traumerei and fought to contain the beasts, but the gap in power was obvious. They weren't fighting Traumerei, they were fighting to keep each other alive. Doom, Paul, Jinsung, and Sophia Tan fought to protect the rest of their troops as they made their way towards the warp gate in the needle. Even so, the divine sea creatures under Traumerei's control pushed back, trying to reach Bam, and the defensive line against them started to falter. Their only saving grace was the appearance of Grace Mirchea Luslec, who provided enough of an opening for Bam to deliver a Wave Explosion. It didn't do much damage, but as soon as it landed Bam knew something about his attack was different. Traumerei showed no sign of injuries, but the attack left him rattled, and without a word he called back his shinheuh and retreated with his fleet.

          "My my, I wonder what's so interesting off into the distance that you haven't been able to take your eyes off it?" The voice of Hwaryun startled him and brought him back to the present. "Don't feel like celebrating, my god?"

          "It doesn't feel like there's much to celebrate. We didn't really win, we just barely survived" replied Bam.

          Hwaryun's face hardened in a rare moment of seriousness. "Believe what you want, but FUG has never once defeated Jahad's army in a battle. Just surviving is much more than what we've ever accomplished." She turned and locked her one good eye with Bam's. "Don't forget, the people that we lost today, they came only because they believed in you, in what you stood for. It's in their honor that we celebrate the fact that we survived, that the cause they put their life towards wasn't in vain."

          As she turned and walked away, Bam could hear it. The more he listened, the more he could hear a melancholy note in the celebration, as if their cries could ward away the feeling of loss and uncertainty from overwhelming them. Not for the first time, Bam wondered if it was all worth it, if he was worth fighting for.

          "Come on, Bam, let's see if there's anybody that can be saved," urged Jinsung, who had been watching him quietly from behind. Bam took his eyes off the horizon and his focus snapped to his surroundings. Looking carefully, he could see lifeless corpses littered among the rubble, both of allies and enemies. Casualties were heavy on both sides, but FUG dealt a heavy blow against Jahad's squadrons. The Lo Po Bia family leaders retreated to their battleship as Traumerei began his rampage to avoid getting caught in the crossfire and so most of their family remained intact. On the other hand, FUG had suffered some bitter casualties. Love, Augusgus, and Namo died in the battle, along with many of the canines with Yama. Evankhell and Hansung Yu were taken by the enemy. Of all the rankers, Cha and Doom suffered the worst injuries and would be out of battle for a long time, and even Karaka lost an arm despite his seemingly invincible regeneration. It was a miracle that the rankers manage to shield the regulars from harm, and so many of the regulars who sympathized with FUG managed to escape through the warp gate. As Yama, Paul, and the canines tended to Doom and Dowon was taking care of Cha, Bam saw a crowd congregate in the distance and started rushing over

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